$1.25 Million Recovery for Birth Injury

Blume Donnelly principal Michael Zerres recovered a $1.25 million settlement on behalf of a four-and-a-half-year-old boy who suffered a brain injury following birth at a Sussex County Hospital. The boy, who was delivered by emergency cesarean section because of fetal distress, suffered an apparent hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy injury due to a lack of oxygen, which has left him significantly impaired. It was claimed that the doctor ignored the advice of nurses at the hospital, who urged him to perform a c-section sooner because of the presence of a non-reassuring fetal heart tracing. The obstetrician ignored the suggestion of the nurses and delayed the c-section by almost one hour. The defendant, as well as his expert witnesses, contended that the baby’s injury was not a result of hypoxia, but was a result of the mother’s gestational diabetes, and, that the outcome was not preventable.